The Current

As of October 1, 2025, non-essential U.S. government operations ceased due to the failure of Congress to pass legislation that funds government agencies. The latest shutdown follows others that have occurred during both Republican and Democratic administrations and under Congresses’ controlled by both parties. To discuss this shutdown and what it means for governance moving forward, Brookings senior fellows Elaine Kamarck and Molly...

The 80th UN General Assembly is underway in New York City, in session from just after Labor Day into December. The annual High-Level Week, when world leaders gather, ended in September. To share their takeaways from the 80th General Assembly thus far and to look ahead at the UN's role in global security and development, experts Jeff Feltman and John McArthur join The Current.

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On this episode — a look at the shifting landscape of media regulation, consolidation, and the ongoing debate over free speech in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from his late-night talk show and subsequent reinstatement. To talk about these developments, including the role of the FCC in regulating U.S. media in an era of media consolidation, Tom Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and former chairman of the FCC ...

The credibility of U.S. federal government data may seem an arcane topic, but it is critical for a well-functioning economy. To explore the importance of reliable economic data and potential challenges to that reliability, and why it matters to businesses and the public, Ben Harris, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, joins the Current.

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On August 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that put the federal government in charge of the local police force. A second executive order directed members of the D.C. National Guard into active federal service. Today, over 2,000 National Guard members from D.C. and other states are mobilized in the nation’s capital. To talk about the constitutional and legal basis of these actions and what this expansion of feder...

20 years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast, researchers from New Orleans, Brookings, and The Data Center are examining how the city has recovered and the challenges it still faces. Manann Donoghoe joins The Current to talk about the extensive new analysis, the many factors that make a city resilient, and the areas policymakers should be investing in to ensure communities can adapt to extreme weather events...

Mara Karlin, a visiting fellow at Brookings and former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, discusses the recent U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Israeli-Iran conflict, and what might come next. A key question is how to assess the impact of the military strikes on Iran's nuclear capabilities.

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Molly Kinder, fellow in Brookings Metro, reflects on the moral and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, work, and workers, as she lays out in her recent paper, “The unexpected visionary: Pope Francis on AI, humanity, and the future of work.” Kinder addresses the late Pope Francis’s leadership on this issue, and look ahead to how Pope Leo XIV will continue the Church’s attention to this fundamental challenge.

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House Republicans are currently negotiating a budget reconciliation bill that packages extensive tax breaks with deep spending cuts to anti-poverty programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Robert Greenstein explains how the U.S. safety net has cut the poverty rate nearly in half in recent decades and the impacts of the cuts now being considered.  

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Historically, Black Americans’ quest for power has been seen as an attempt to gain equal protection under the law, but power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It’s linked with economic influence and ownership of one’s own self, home, business, and creations. In his new book, "Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It," published by McMillan, Brookings Senior Fellow Andre P...

In its first two months, the Trump administration has not only laid off thousands of federal workers and shuttered agencies, but it has also purged taxpayer-funded data sets from a swathe of government websites, including data on crime, sexual orientation, gender, education, climate, and global development. Caren Grown, senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, joins The Current to explain why the loss o...

Democracy Playbook 2025, published by the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project at Brookings, identifies seven pillars that are essential to safeguard democracy worldwide and offers actionable steps to strengthen democratic institutions in the U.S. and globally. To talk about the new report, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Norm Eisen, co-editor of the Playbook, joins The Current.

This week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered a freeze of funding across a broad array of federal programs, leading to mass confusion around the country from local governments, nonprofits, and individuals. While that particular order appears to have been rescinded, Molly Reynolds explains how it touches on foundational questions of Congress’ spending power and constitutional authorities, and how it’s just...

As the Trump administration prepares to take power in Washington, Senior Fellow Tony Pipa, host of the Reimagine Rural podcast, looks at what has happened in rural policy under the Biden administration and what shifts in federal policy and emphasis might ensue under President Trump. No matter what changes come, Pipa notes, local communities will continue to solve problems locally.

On December 8, Syrian rebels took control of Damascus, the nation’s capital. Deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, marking the end of a long civil war and his 24-year-long brutal reign, which followed his father’s nearly 30-year rule. Syrians are rightfully celebrating, even as they’re freeing people from notorious regime prisons and looking to transition away from decades of repression. Steven Heydemann, a nonresident s...

As the U.S. heads into the final days of the 2024 elections, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas reviews the health of American democracy, the lack of guardrails against mis- and disinformation, and ways to restore public trust.  

The economy is one of the quadrennial top issues for American voters, and related to economic performance are concerns about the national debt, taxes, and government spending, especially on popular entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. On this episode, Ben Harris, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, talks with host Fred Dews about how these issues are seen by American voters during election seaso...

The high cost of housing is a significant economic pressure for many Americans, even as inflation has eased. Homeowners and renters alike pay increasingly higher percentages of their income on housing, and homelessness reached a record high in 2023. 

The 79th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations opened this week in New York City. To address some of the main issues on the agenda, with a focus on sustainable development and the Summit of the Future, is John McArthur, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings and a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development.